Looking Back on 2025: A Year of Growth, Expansion, and New Horizons at JHMES

As December settles in and I reflect on 2025, I'm struck by how much has changed—not just for JHMES, but for me personally. This year has been transformative in ways I couldn't have anticipated when I set my intentions back in January. What began as a commitment to deepen my developmental editing practice evolved into something far more expansive: new partnerships, new publishing opportunities, a peer-reviewed journal article, and a renewed connection to the transpersonal psychology community that has shaped so much of my scholarly life.

As I look back on the milestones, client relationships, and personal achievements of this year, I'm reminded that growth rarely follows a straight line. It emerges through relationships, through saying yes to unexpected opportunities, and through the sometimes messy but always meaningful work of helping researchers find their voices.

Published Research: Synchronicity in Grief Study in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology

One of the most gratifying moments of 2025 was seeing my phenomenological research article published in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology. "The Role of Synchronicity in Meaning Reconstruction: Integrating Synchronicity, Meaning Reconstruction, Terror Management, and Shattered Assumptions Theory in Bereavement" represents years of research, data analysis, and deep engagement with some of the most profound questions in transpersonal psychology and grief studies.

This article explores how meaningful coincidences—what Jung called synchronicities—can help bereaved individuals reconstruct meaning after loss. Through phenomenological interviews with seven bereaved women, I identified five essential components of the synchronicity experience that facilitate meaning-making during active grieving. The research integrates continuing bonds theory, terror management theory, and shattered assumptions theory to explain why these experiences matter so deeply to those who encounter them.

The publication process itself was a reminder of why I do the work I do with JHMES clients. Academic publishing requires patience, precision, and a willingness to engage deeply with reviewer feedback. Responding to peer reviewers, refining arguments, and strengthening the manuscript taught me (once again) that good writing is always collaborative—even when you're the sole author. The editorial process pushed me to clarify my thinking and communicate complex phenomenological findings with greater accessibility.

This publication also serves as the empirical foundation for my forthcoming book with Routledge. The article presents the research findings in a condensed, journal-appropriate format, while the book will expand on these findings with additional case studies, theoretical depth, and practical applications for grief counselors and psychotherapists. Having both the peer-reviewed article and the book contract represents a significant milestone in my scholarly career—and validates the years of work I've put into understanding synchronicity as a meaning-making phenomenon in bereavement.

A Publishing Dream Realized: Routledge Contract for Synchronicity in Grief

Building on this research foundation, I signed a contract with Routledge in October for my book Synchronicity in Grief. This has been a long time coming, and seeing it come to fruition feels both surreal and deeply satisfying.

Synchronicity in Grief will explore the meaningful coincidences that many grieving people experience—those uncanny moments when a cardinal appears at just the right time, when a song plays that carries a message from the deceased, or when dreams provide comfort and guidance. Drawing on Jungian psychology, transpersonal studies, contemporary grief research, and my own phenomenological findings, the book examines how synchronicities can serve as bridges between the bereaved and the deceased, offering solace and meaning during one of life's most difficult passages.

This project is deeply personal. It emerged from my own experiences with grief and synchronicity, from years of research in transpersonal psychology, and from conversations with countless individuals who've shared their own stories of mysterious connection with loved ones who've died. Working with Routledge—a publisher known for serious academic work in psychology, philosophy, and cultural studies—means this book will reach the audience it deserves: grief counselors, psychologists, transpersonal researchers, and anyone seeking to understand the deeper dimensions of loss and connection.

The editorial process has also been an education in patience and persistence. Academic book publishing moves slowly, and the gap between initial research, journal publication, proposal submission, and signed contract can feel eternal. But this waiting period allowed the book to mature, for my thinking to deepen, and for me to gather more stories and research to support the central arguments. Now, as I move into the writing and revision phase with the published article as my foundation, I'm grateful for every step that brought me here.

Editorial Leadership: Special Topics Editor at the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Another highlight of 2025 has been my appointment as Special Topics Editor at the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies for a 2026 issue on transpersonal grief. This role represents a homecoming of sorts—transpersonal psychology has been my intellectual and spiritual home for decades, and grief has been one of my central research interests.

As Special Topics Editor, I'll be curating a collection of articles that explore grief through a transpersonal lens—examining topics like mystical experiences in bereavement, the role of synchronicity in healing, cross-cultural perspectives on continuing bonds with the deceased, and the intersection of grief and spiritual transformation. This issue will bring together scholars, practitioners, and researchers who are pushing the boundaries of how we understand loss, meaning-making, and connection beyond death.

The role has also given me a deeper appreciation for the editorial side of academic publishing. Reviewing submissions, providing feedback to authors, and shaping a coherent narrative across multiple articles requires a different skill set than developmental editing, but it draws on many of the same strengths: attention to detail, sensitivity to authorial voice, and a commitment to helping ideas shine.

I'm particularly excited about this issue because transpersonal grief remains an understudied area. While mainstream grief research has made tremendous strides in recent decades, there's still relatively little academic attention paid to the non-ordinary experiences that many bereaved people report. This special issue will help legitimize these experiences and provide a scholarly framework for understanding them—work that feels especially meaningful now that my own research has been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

New Institutional Partnerships: California Institute of Human Sciences

One of the most exciting developments this year has been my partnership with the California Institute of Human Sciences (CIHS). As a freelance editor working directly with CIHS students, I've had the privilege of supporting doctoral candidates as they navigate the complex terrain of course writing in transpersonal psychology, consciousness studies, and integrative health.

Working with CIHS students has been particularly meaningful because it's allowed me to return to my roots in transpersonal scholarship (my own doctoral work was at Sofia University, formerly the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology) while supporting emerging researchers who are asking some of today's most pressing questions about human consciousness, healing, and transformation. These students bring a unique blend of scientific rigor and openness to non-ordinary states of consciousness, synchronicity, and the deeper mysteries of human experience—exactly the kind of interdisciplinary thinking that excites me most.

The partnership has also reinforced something I've long believed: developmental editing isn't just about grammar and structure. It's about helping researchers clarify their thinking, strengthen their arguments, and communicate complex ideas with precision and elegance. When you're working with graduate students—especially in fields that challenge conventional paradigms—the editor's role becomes that of a thought partner, someone who can help bridge the gap between innovative ideas and academic conventions.

Supporting Dissertation Students: The Heart of the Work

While these personal accomplishments have been thrilling, the core of my work this year has remained where it's always been: supporting dissertation students as they complete their doctorates and prepare to enter the next phase of their academic careers.

This year, I worked with numerous dissertation clients across psychology, education, business, and related fields. Each project brought its own challenges and rewards. I've helped students refine their research questions, strengthen their literature reviews, clarify their methodologies, and translate complex findings into clear, compelling prose. I've supported them through the emotional rollercoaster of dissertation writing—the moments of doubt, the breakthrough insights, the exhaustion that comes from sustaining a multi-year research project.

One particularly rewarding project this year involved working with a doctoral candidate researching the impact of social media adoption in women-owned B2B firms. This dissertation combined marketing strategy, feminist theory, and qualitative research methods to examine how women entrepreneurs navigate visibility, credibility, and strategic decision-making in digitally mediated markets. The complexity of this project—bridging multiple theoretical frameworks, working with extensive interview data, and synthesizing findings across multiple case studies—required sustained editorial attention. Watching this student move from overwhelming data to clear, structured analysis was deeply satisfying.

A Long-Term Collaboration: The Embodiment Book

I've also continued my relationship with a professor emeritus who is writing a book on embodiment. This project has been years in the making, and we're finally nearing completion. Working on a book-length manuscript over such an extended period requires patience, flexibility, and a willingness to think deeply about structure, argumentation, and voice.

The embodiment project explores how we live in and through our bodies—how physical experience shapes consciousness, how trauma is held in the body, how healing involves re-inhabiting embodied existence. It's intellectually rich, theoretically sophisticated, and grounded in both phenomenological philosophy and contemporary neuroscience. Helping shape this manuscript has been a privilege, and I'm excited to see it reach publication soon.

Long-term editorial partnerships like this one underscore something I've learned over years of developmental editing: the best work often emerges through sustained collaboration. When an editor and author develop trust and understanding over time, the editorial process becomes a genuine dialogue—a shared exploration of how ideas can be most effectively communicated.

From Dissertation to Publication: Supporting Article Conversions

Another significant aspect of my work this year has been helping clients convert their dissertations into publishable journal articles. This process requires a different set of skills than dissertation editing. Journal articles demand concision, focused argumentation, and attention to journal-specific conventions. They require authors to distill years of research into 8,000-10,000 words while maintaining rigor and impact.

This year, I successfully guided several dissertation-to-article conversions, helping authors identify which chapters or findings were best suited for journal publication, restructure their arguments for a journal audience, and navigate the submission and revision process. Several of these articles have now been published or are in the final stages of peer review, which means my clients are building their publication records and establishing themselves as emerging scholars in their fields.

I've also worked with early-career academics who weren't converting dissertations but were simply drafting their first journal articles. These projects reminded me that the transition from doctoral student to published scholar can be daunting—even after completing a dissertation. Learning to write for peer-reviewed journals requires understanding the rhythms and expectations of academic discourse, responding thoughtfully to reviewer feedback, and managing the emotional ups and downs of the publication process. Supporting scholars through these first publications feels like an investment in the future of academic research.

Having just gone through the peer review and publication process myself this year, I'm able to bring fresh insights and empathy to this work. I understand viscerally what it feels like to receive reviewer comments that ask you to rethink fundamental aspects of your argument, to condense complex ideas without losing nuance, and to maintain your confidence in your work while remaining open to constructive criticism.

Reflections and Looking Forward

As I look back on 2025, I'm struck by the richness and variety of the work I've been able to do. From developmental editing to publication coaching, from institutional partnerships to editorial leadership, from long-term book collaborations to guiding first-time authors through article publication, from conducting my own research to publishing in peer-reviewed journals—this year has encompassed so much of what I love about this work.

What ties all of these projects together is a commitment to helping researchers communicate their ideas with clarity, precision, and impact. Whether I'm working with a dissertation student struggling to structure a complex argument, an early career academic navigating the publication process for the first time, an experienced scholar refining a book manuscript, or pursuing my own research and writing, the core remains the same: listening carefully, asking thoughtful questions, and helping writers find the clearest path from insight to articulation.

Seeing my own research published this year has also deepened my understanding of what my clients experience. I've walked the path they're walking—the uncertainty of whether reviewers will accept the work, the vulnerability of putting years of research out into the world, the satisfaction of seeing a publication come to fruition. This experience has made me a better editor and coach, more attuned to both the technical and emotional dimensions of academic publishing. My training in early 2025 in motivational interviewing has also deepened my practice and reaffirmed my commitment to client-centered approaches that are truly respectful and collaborative in spirit.

Looking ahead to 2026, I'm excited to continue this work. The special issue on transpersonal grief will be a major focus, as will completing my book with Routledge. I'll continue supporting dissertation students and early career academics, and I hope to deepen my partnership with CIHS as their students move through their programs. I'm also exploring new ways to support researchers through online workshops and resources that can complement the one-on-one developmental editing that remains the heart of my practice.

If you're a post-doctoral researcher, an early-career academic, or a doctoral student preparing for the next phase of your career, I hope you'll reach out. Whether you need help converting your dissertation into articles, refining a book manuscript, navigating the peer review process, or simply finding clarity in your writing, I'd be honored to support your work.

Here's to the year ahead—to new collaborations, new publications, and continued growth in service of scholarly excellence.

Warmly,

~Jennifer Hill, PhD

December 10, 2025